Meghalaya, Assam may adopt give and take policy Raju Das SHILLONG, Nov 24 – Meghalaya today said it was fully prepared with “data and documents” to reclaim its territory being held by Assam.

Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said the Chief Secretary-level committee has given a presentation to the Cabinet and he was satisfied with its preparedness. “We are fully satisfied with the presentation of the committee. The committee is fully equipped to take the talks forward with its data and documents,” Sangma said after the Cabinet meeting.

Both Meghalaya and Assam have formed the CS-level committee and has held several rounds of talks to find an amicable solution to the long-pending boundary dispute between the two States. There are 12 areas of dispute between the two States.

The committee was formed on June 5 after Langpih firing incident earlier this year. The committee was supposed to submit its report within 45 days, but failed to meet the deadline and sought several extensions due to the intricate nature of the dispute.

“The two committees have had meaningful discussions so far and are moving in the right direction. Hope the committees arrives at a solution soon,” the Chief Minister said.

Sangma and Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi also held separate talks on the boundary dispute. The two Chief Ministers have agreed that status quo would be maintained in areas of dispute.

Assam claims Meghalaya has encroached upon 5,789.66 hectares of its territory. Similar counter-claim has also been put forward by Meghalaya.

With no signs of let off, both States are increasingly moving forward to exchange land through what is being termed as a “give and take” policy.

In this equation, territory which is administratively closer to Dispur would be handed over to Assam and the same principle would be followed in case of disputed areas closer to Meghalaya.